Slovenia - small, but perfectly formed
The tiny country that offers a little of everything Europe has to offer
- Published: 30/05/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Brunch
It's an undeniably tiny place, with just over two million people. But good things come in small packages and never was that old chestnut more appropriate than in describing Slovenia, an independent republic bordering Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia and the Adriatic Sea.
Slovenia has been dubbed a lot of things since it separated from Yugoslavia in 1991 - "Europe in Miniature", "The Sunny Side of the Alps", "The Green Piece of Europe". They may sound like PR sound bites, but they're all true. From the Venetian harbour towns of the coast to the Hungarian-style farmhouses of Prekmurje; from the subterranean magic of the Skocjan Caves to The Sound of Music scenery of the Julian Alps; and from the opera and concert halls of Ljubljana to the World War II Partisan bases hidden in the hills of Dolenjska - Slovenia has it all. Its incredible mixture of climates brings warm Mediterranean breezes up to the foothills of the Alps, where it can snow even in summer. And with more than half of its total area covered in forest, Slovenia really is one of the greenest countries in the world.
And in this land of the great outdoors the list of activities on offer is endless; throughout the year you'll encounter locals engaged in decidedly active pursuits - canoeing and kayaking in spring, swimming and water-skiing in summer, hiking and climbing in autumn, and skiing and snowboarding in winter.
THE CULTURE Slovenes are a sophisticated and well-educated people. They have a reputation for being sober-minded, hard-working, dependable and honest - perhaps a result of all those years under the yoke of the Germanic Habsburgs. But they retain something of their Slavic character, even if their spontaneity is a little more premeditated and their expressions of passion a little more muted than their Balkan neighbours. Think quietly conservative, deeply self-confident, broadminded and tolerant. And mostly happy. A Slovenian friend said: "We have everything here that we need."
SLOVENIA: Available from all good bookshops for 795 baht.
He's right - in a myriad of ways. If you really want to understand Slovenes and Sloventsvo (Slovene-ness), there are two Slovenian words that you should know. The first is the adjective priden, variously defined as "diligent", "industrious", "hardworking" and - tellingly - "well-behaved". Erica Johnson Debeljak, in her seminal (though unpublished in English) And the Distance Smells of Apples: A Story of Migration, a precursor to her memoir Forbidden Bread, claims that priden "comes close to defining the essence of the Slovenian soul". Doing a spot of DIY, neighbour? How priden of you! Expecting that second child, you two? Aren't we pridni!
The second word is the noun hrepenenje, which expresses a more complicated concept. The dictionary says it means "longing" or "yearning", but that's only half the story. In truth, it's the desire for something seemingly unattainable and the sorrow that accompanies it. "Hrepenenje is the exclusive property of the dispossessed," writes Johnson Debeljak, citing "the country's agonising history of border changes, emigration, alienation and powerlessness within a larger unit". The mediaeval tale Lepa Vida can be seen as the very embodiment of this "melancholy yearning".
Slovenes are gifted polyglots, and almost everyone speaks some English, German and/or Italian. The fact that you will rarely have difficulty in making yourself understood and will probably never need Slovene shouldn't stop you from learning a few phrases of this rich and wonderful language (which counts as many as three dozen dialects and boasts not just singular and plural but the dual number in which things are counted in twos in all cases). Any effort on your part to speak the local tongue will be rewarded 100-fold. Srecno (Good luck)!
This is an edited extract from 'Slovenia', by Steve Fallon, Lonely Planet, 2010.
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EVENTS CALENDAR FOR JUNE
INTERNATIONAL ROWING REGATTA, BLED: MID-JUNE
One of the country's most exciting (and fastest) sporting events is held over three days on the lake.
INTERNATIONAL BIENNIAL OF GRAPHIC ARTS, LJUBLJANA: JUNE/SEP
Held at Ljubljana's International Centre of Graphic Arts and other venues over nine weeks in odd-numbered (ie 2011, 2013, etc) years.
IDRIJA LACE-MAKING FESTIVAL: LATE JUNE
The red-letter annual event in Idrija in Primorska, with a contest at the end of up to 100 competitors.
ANA DESETNICA INTERNATIONAL STREET THEATRE FESTIVAL, LJUBLJANA: LATE JUNE/EARLY JULY
One of the largest outdoor theatre festivals in Europe, held over a week in summer.
FESTIVAL LENT, MARIBOR: LATE JUNE/MID-JULY
A two-week extravaganza of folklore and culture in Maribor's Old Town.
SEVIQC BREZICE: LATE JUNE/LATE JULY
Month-long series of ancient music concerts in southeast Slovenia.
About the author
- Writer: Steve Fallon
- Position: Writer
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